Characteristic Factor

Enemor & Ener (SNNP)

Adama & Boset (Oromia)

Borkena Valley (Amhara)

KA & St. Ts. A. (Tigray)

Weighted Average/ Totals

Year of Assessment

2002

2006

2004

2007

2004

2007

2006

2008

Before

After

Mean Age (years)

45

43

48

46

50.7

45

49

48

47

45

Females (women)

81%

72%

82%

90%

77%

81%

93%

66%

82%

76%

Illiterates

95%

89%

86%

85%

81%

73%

97%

87%

91%

84%

Epilated  eyelashes

71.2%

*

33.7%

*

39%

*

36.8%

*

55%

*

Population 14+ (x1000)

53

57.3

103.5

112.5

162.4

176

134.3

138.7

287.8

308.5

Trichiasis cases

302

112

83

33

110

67

76

35

571

247

Prevalence of Trichiasis

10.4%

8.9%

3.4%

1.6%

4.1%

2.8%

3.1%

1.5%

4.4%

2.9%

Surgical Coverage

*

46%

*

27%

*

27%

*

48%

*

41%
Their mean age was 45 and 47 years; respectively. Most (84%) of the respondents were not educated. Epilating the eyelashes was the most frequent (55%) coping mechanism before the intervention. More than 95% of the cases were willing to undergo surgery if provided free of charge in their village. Women remained more likely to be affected (3:1) by trichiasis. The follow up surveys revealed that the overall surgical coverage was 41%. The change in the prevalence of trichiasis (from 4.4% to 2.9%) was not statistically significant.
Table 1: Comparisons of basic characteristics of study populations on barriers to trichiasis surgery, 2006-2008, Ethiopia.